MPC Hill Blast: Big-Bank Profits Rising Along With Swipe Fees

Big-Bank Profits Rising Along With Swipe Fees

The big banks are raking in big profits — again.

• JP Morgan Chase: net profits for the third quarter were up 12%.
• Citigroup: up 15%
• Wells Fargo: up 9%
• Bank of America: up 23%

What does that mean in total net profit margins?

• JP Morgan Chase: 31%
• Citi: 17.2%
• Wells Fargo: 26.1%
• Bank of America: 30.2%

And Visa and Mastercard have even higher margins:

• Visa: 56.9%
• Mastercard: 45.7%

Banks consistently have about the highest margins of any U.S. industry.

• At the other end of the spectrum, grocers and food sellers have average margins of less than 2%.

While bank profits skyrocket, American families are taking it on the chin:

• Swipe fees hit the average American family with an extra $1,800 in costs each year

COMPETITION IS BETTER FOR EVERYONE

IT'S TIME TO PASS THE CREDIT CARD COMPETITION ACT